The Angels May Have Found An Ace
Angels right-hander José Soriano has had a really tough journey but it seems he has arrived. He has largely stayed healthy for a few years and his results keep getting better. The timing of his breakout puts the Halos in an interesting position.
Soriano has always had good stuff. Even as a teenager, he was hitting the mid-90s with his fastball and showing good secondary stuff while pitching in Rookie ball. Still, there were questions about whether or not he could utilize that arsenal. From 2016 to 2018, he tossed 155 2/3 innings between Rookie Ball and Low-A. He did have a 2.89 earned run average but his 19.3% strikeout rate and 12.7% walk rate didn’t suggest dominance.
He missed a few more bats in 2019 but also with more walks. Then the injury odyssey began. He required Tommy John surgery in February of 2020. The pandemic canceled the minor leagues that year but Soriano was going to be rehabbing regardless.
The Pirates tried betting on his arm, selecting him with the first overall pick in the Rule 5 draft in November of 2020. Naturally, the hope was that he would return from his surgery and get right back on track. He began a rehab assignment in May of 2021 but that lasted only two appearances before his elbow discomfort returned. He required yet another Tommy John surgery in June. At the end of the 2021 campaign, he was returned to the Angels.
He sat out most of the 2022 season but did make seven appearances in the minors late in the year. The Angels were encouraged enough that they didn’t want to risk another Rule 5 selection, so they added him to their 40-man roster in November of that year.
The Halos used Soriano as a reliever in 2023, an understandable decision for a guy who had effectively missed the previous three years. He tossed 23 1/3 innings in the minors and another 42 in the majors, getting him to 65 1/3 for the year overall. The major league results were good, as Soriano posted a 3.64 ERA. His 12.4% walk rate was high but perhaps some rust was understandable after so much missed time. He struck out 30.3% of batters faced and induced grounders at a 51% clip.
Going into 2024, the Angels could have kept him in the bullpen but decided to give starting another try. A few years later, that looks like an inspired decision. He stayed healthy in 2024 for the most part. Soriano had a brief stint on the injured list in the summer due to an abdominal infection and also landed on the IL late in the year due to some arm fatigue. However, he logged 113 innings over 22 appearances with a 3.42 ERA. His 20.7% strikeout rate and 9.6% walk rate weren’t astounding but he got grounders at a huge 59.7% pace.
Soriano’s 2025 season was even better. His only IL stint was right at the end of the season. He was struck by a comebacker and was put on the shelf on September 18th with a contusion. He made 31 starts on the year and tossed 169 frames. His 4.26 ERA wasn’t as nice as the year before but his rate stats were largely the same. He had a 21% strikeout rate, 10.8% walk rate and a huge 65.3% ground ball rate.
Soriano’s velocity has been in the upper 90s throughout his big league career but he has thrown his sinker a lot, leading to the grounder-heavy profile. He was atop the leaderboard in that category by a decent margin, with Andre Pallante a distant second at 59.1% last year.
Here in 2026, Soriano has changed up his pitch mix and it has seemingly propelled him to a new level. He threw his sinker 49.1% of the time in 2025 but that’s down to 30.5% so far this year. That’s led to way more four-seamers. Soriano threw that pitch just 8.6% of the time last year but is up to 23.4% in 2026. To smaller degrees, he has also thrown more splitters, sliders and curveballs.
This is only four starts and 27 innings but Soriano has only allowed one earned run, giving him a tiny ERA of 0.33. Part of that is a .143 batting average on balls in play and 100% strand rate, but it’s not entirely luck. Soriano is still getting grounders at a strong 60.7% clip but with a strikeout rate that has soared to 32%. His 2.33 FIP and 2.73 SIERA suggest he would be showing huge improvement even with more neutral favor from the baseball gods.
It’s obviously tremendous for the Angels. They need several things to break right in order to compete this year, since they haven’t been good in a decade and actually cut the payroll coming into this year. That creates a need for some internal guys to step up and be nice surprises. They’re getting a tremendous bounceback from Mike Trout. Former prospect Oswald Peraza is out to a great start. Reid Detmers moving from the bullpen to the rotation is going well so far.
Time will tell if that’s enough to make the Angels legitimate contenders. They are currently 10-10. Hanging around .500 is enough to be in a playoff race these days, with the expanded postseason field. In some recent years, they have had strong starts that faded over time, as their lack of depth generally gets more exposed as a long season proceeds.
If the Angels aren’t strong contenders when July rolls around, Soriano will be an interesting theoretical trade candidate. His Rule 5 odyssey was harmless for the Angels in a sense, in that they got him back. However, he did get a year of big league service time while spending that season on the injured list. That means that despite only having pitched parts of three seasons with the Angels, he came into 2026 with his service clock at three years and 121 days. He is therefore slated for free agency after 2028.
That doesn’t mean the Angels would have to move him this summer but there would be an argument for it. A dominant pitcher with two-plus seasons of club control could get a haul. Given Soriano’s injury history, there would be sense in selling high, before another injury tanks his value.
This is an approach the Marlins have taken in recent years. They traded two-plus seasons of Trevor Rogers to the Orioles, two years of Jesús Luzardo to the Phillies, three years of Edward Cabrera to the Cubs and three years of Ryan Weathers to the Yankees. Those guys all had notable injury issues in Miami but were cashed in while the Marlins felt they were able to get good value. Those trades netted the Fish Kyle Stowers, Connor Norby, Owen Caissie and a bunch of prospects who are still in the minors. Their farm is now generally ranked in the top third of the league, and it’s possible they are forming a young nucleus that will have them well set up for the coming years. Along similar lines, MacKenzie Gore and Shane Baz were traded for big prospect packages in the most recent offseason, by the Nationals and Rays respectively. Gore had two years of club control remaining. Baz, who has since signed an extension with his new club in Baltimore, had three.
This is a path the Angels have typically avoided. Broadly speaking, they appear to be higher on their own chances of contention than outsiders. They have avoided rebuilding and haven’t made many major moves with a long-term focus. They often use their best draft picks on older college players and then fast-track them to the majors to try to help as quickly as possible. They had many chances to trade Shohei Ohtani for a huge package of prospects but held onto him and couldn’t get to the playoffs with him. They sent out notable prospects at the 2023 deadline to get Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo López and others but immediately floundered and put those guys on waivers a few weeks later.
As a result, there’s not a lot of optimism about the future. Each of Baseball America, MLB Pipeline, ESPN and The Athletic consider the Angels to have one of the four worst farm systems in the league.
If the Angels aren’t in contention this summer, there would be some sense in selling high on Soriano, Detmers, Peraza, Zach Neto, Jo Adell and others, in order to lay out a long-term path. History suggests that, if they are close this summer, they will try to ride the wave into the postseason. For the sake of their fans, it would be great if that worked out, though it has backfired on them in the past.
As mentioned earlier, Soriano’s step forward is unequivocally a good development for the Angels. The question is whether they will be able to take advantage of it. Making the playoffs for the first time since 2014 would be one way to do that. Setting themselves up for the future by building up a barren farm system would be another. The club hasn’t been able to take either of those roads in recent history. Hopefully this time is different, one way or another.
Photos courtesy of Patrick Gorski, Imagn Images
Garret Anderson Passes Away
The Angels announced Friday that three-time All-Star and 2002 World Series champion Garret Anderson has passed away at just 53 years of age. Anderson suffered a fatal heart attack, per Tyler Kepner of The Athletic. The organization issued the following statement on the heartbreaking loss of a franchise great:
“We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Angels Hall of Famer Garret Anderson. Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class, and loyalty throughout his career and beyond. We extend our heartfelt condolences to the entire Anderson family.”
Angels owner Arte Moreno has also issued a personal statement:
“The Angels Organization is mourning the loss of one of our franchise’s most beloved icons, Garret Anderson. Garret was a cornerstone of our organization throughout his 15 seasons and his stoic presence in the outfield and our clubhouse elevated the Angels into an era of continued success, highlighted by the 2002 World Series Championship.
Garret will forever hold a special place in the hearts of Angels fans for his professionalism, class, and loyalty throughout his career and beyond. His admiration and respect for the game was immeasurable.
We extend our deepest condolences to Garret’s wife Teresa, daughters Brianna and Bailey, son Garret ‘Trey’ Anderson III, and his entire family.”
Originally selected by the Angels out of John F. Kennedy High School in Granada Hills, Calif. in the fourth round of the 1990 draft, Anderson shattered any reasonable expectations with that relatively humble draft status. He made his major league debut in July 1994 at just 22 years of age. It was a fleeting five-game cup of coffee due to the 1994 strike, but Anderson’s 5-for-13 (.385) showing served as a portent for what was to come.
In 1995, Anderson immediately broke out as one of the game’s brightest young players. He torched American League pitching with a .321/.352/.505 batting line, 16 home runs, 19 doubles, a triple and six stolen bases. Anderson narrowly finished second to Minnesota’s Marty Cordova in ’95 Rookie of the Year voting, with both players pulling in 13 of 28 first-place votes. The two were extremely close in terms of on-base percentage and slugging percentage, with Anderson having a big lead in batting average but Cordova having a major edge in games played (137 to 106) and plate appearances (579 to 400).
Anderson followed that Rookie of the Year runner-up showing with several years of roughly average offense and plus right field defense. In 2000, he broke out with a 35-homer campaign and followed it with a 28-homer efforts in 2001. Anderson’s 2002 season produced his first All-Star bid. He paced the majors with 56 doubles, ripped 29 home runs and hit .306/.332/.539 as the Angels’ roster at large gelled together to create an unstoppable force.
Anderson joined homegrown stars like Troy Glaus, Darin Erstad, Tim Salmon, Jarrod Washburn, John Lackey and Francisco Rodriguez on an Angels club that won 99 games to secure a postseason berth. The ’02 Angels toppled a 103-win Yankees club in the American League Division Series before taking down a 94-win Twins club in the American League Championship Series. Their World Series aspirations were hanging on by a thread in Game 6 against the Giants, with the Halos trailing by five runs heading into the bottom of the seventh. Anderson collected a hit as part of the team’s late six-run rally, and in Game 7, he cleared the bases with a third-inning double down the line off San Francisco’s Livan Hernandez, giving the Angels a 4-1 lead they would never relinquish.
That standout 2002 season not only earned Anderson his first All-Star nod, it also secured him a fourth-place finish in AL MVP voting and the first of two Silver Slugger Awards in his terrific career. He finished 14th in MVP voting, won another Silver Slugger Award, and not only made another All-Star team in 2003 but won that season’s annual Home Run Derby. Anderson starred for the Angels all the way through 2008 before closing out his career with a pair of one-year stops in Atlanta and back in Los Angeles — this time in Dodger Blue.
All told, Anderson’s career drew to a close with some rare numbers. He retired with a .293/.324/.461 batting line. On a rate basis, that was roughly league-average offense in that supercharged era of run production, but few players could match Anderson’s consistency, durability and longevity. He slugged 287 home runs (186th all-time) and still ranks in the all-time top-100 doubles (522, 50th) runs batted in (1365, 87th) and hits (2529, 96th). To this day, Anderson is the Angels’ franchise leader in games played, hits, runs scored, RBIs and total bases.
Anderson’s consistent production, smooth swing and stoic personality helped endear him not only to the Angels faithful but to baseball fans from all walks of life. His name is synonymous with the most prosperous era of Angels history, and his indelible legacy will live on in franchise lore. We at MLB Trade Rumors offer our heartfelt condolences to Anderson’s family, the Angels organizations, and the countless fans who hold cherished memories of one of his generation’s most consistent hitters.
Mike Trout Might Be Back
Two ninth-inning collapses by the Angels’ bullpen have overshadowed Mike Trout‘s dominant performance in the Bronx this week. The veteran outfielder has slugged home runs in all three games of the series. He has four long balls in total against the Yankees, including three in consecutive plate appearances from Monday to Tuesday. Trout’s two-run blast in the fifth inning on Wednesday gave the Angels their first lead of the contest. Closer Jordan Romano would ultimately cough it up on a walk-off double by Jose Caballero.
The power is always there for Trout. Even in a “down” 2025 season that saw the three-time MVP post his worst wRC+ since his rookie year, he still socked 26 home runs in 130 games. The home run off Luis Gil yesterday was Trout’s sixth of the season through 18 games. Last year, it only took him 11 games to reach a half dozen dingers. Trout had a .926 OPS at that point in the year. He has a .945 OPS right now.
The main difference between last season’s strong start and this year’s early results is the contact. Trout has cut his strikeout rate to 21.4%. His swinging-strike rate is down to 6.0%. Perhaps most importantly, Trout has an overall 84.4% contact rate and a 93% in-zone contact rate. Those are the best marks of his 16-year career.
It’s a small sample, of course, but those are key indicators for aging hitters as they get deeper into their careers. Getting consistently beaten in the strike zone is usually a clear sign that a hitter can no longer compete against big-league pitching. The 34-year-old Trout has the 27th-best zone contact rate among qualified hitters this season. He had the 25th-worst mark in 2025.
One option for declining veterans is to sacrifice batted-ball quality in exchange for more contact. Trout has not gone that route. His strikeout rate improvements this season have come with an absurd level of impact on the ball. He ranks in the 100th percentile in barrel rate, expected slugging percentage, and expected wOBA. Trout’s 93.5 mph average exit velocity is his best as a pro, outside of the shortened 2020 season. He’s not beating the ball into the ground, either. Trout has a 69.4% air contact rate, right in line with his career mark of 66.6%. His split for that metric has leaned toward fly balls (42.9%) instead of line drives (18.4%), which could partly explain his meager .233 average on balls in play. Trout’s pop-up rate has been in line with career norms.
Trout’s opponent this week offers a pair of interesting comparisons from a career-arc perspective. Giancarlo Stanton and Paul Goldschmidt have taken two different paths as they’ve reached the tail-end of their MLB journeys, but ultimately ended up in a similar place. Trout seemed to be headed in the direction of the 36-year-old Stanton. The Yankees’ slugger delivered one of the more impactful campaigns of his recent New York tenure in 2025, crushing 24 home runs in just 281 plate appearances, but it came with a career-worst 34.2% strikeout rate. Stanton has never been an above-average contact hitter, though a 74.9% zone contact rate is a particularly low output. Rafael Devers was the only qualified hitter below 76% last year.
The 38-year-old Goldschmidt went the other direction. He pushed his contact metrics to career-best levels in New York. The first baseman struck out just 18.7% of the time, while putting the ball in play on more than 80% of his swings. The tradeoff was batted-ball quality. Goldschmidt had just a 7.9% barrel rate, his first year being in the single digits since 2016. The veteran’s 43.7% hard-hit rate was his worst mark since the shortened 2020 season. Goldschmidt got his batting average back up to .274 after it had slipped to .245 in his final year with the Cardinals, but he also managed just 10 home runs. The performance was enough for the Yankees to bring him back this year in a part-time role. Stanton also remains a semi-regular, given his defensive limitations and persistent health concerns.
Health is a factor with Trout as well. The main positive from his 2025 campaign was that he played 130 games, his most since 2019. That year happens to be the last time he brought home AL MVP honors. Trout already had an injury scare this season, though this one wasn’t exactly his fault. He missed a game in the first week of April after getting hit on the hand by a pitch. He’s been back in the lineup every game since.
After spending the majority of 2025 at DH, with the Angels hoping to keep him healthy, Trout is back in his familiar spot in center field this season. He has been around league average with the glove (1 DRS, -1 OAA). More notably from a health outlook, he ranks in the 90th percentile in sprint speed. That’s a huge improvement from last year, when he ranked in the 62nd percentile. It was his first time below the 90th percentile in the Statcast era.
A mid-30s resurgence for Trout would be a massive Angels boon not only for the obvious on-field benefits but also because a substantial portion of the team’s decreased payroll is tied up in Trout’s contract. He’s signed at $35.45MM annually through the 2030 season.
The Angels ran a payroll north of $205MM in 2025 but slashed spending in 2026. After accounting for Anthony Rendon‘s deferred/restructured contract, the Angels’ payroll is in the $150MM vicinity. If last year’s $200MM+ payroll was more of an outlier than the beginning of a new trend, it’ll be all the more critical for Trout to deliver on his contract. His current salary accounts for about 23.5% of the team’s payroll — a substantial hike from last year’s 17% mark.
For now, Trout will look to extend his homer streak against Max Fried on Thursday. It’ll be his first look at the Yankees lefty. Only one of Trout’s home runs has come against southpaws this season. From a bigger-picture vantage point, it’ll be telling to keep an eye on Trout’s contact metrics as the season progresses. He doesn’t need to continue posting career-best contact levels in order to return to true All-Star status, but the fact that he’s even been able to do so through his first 18 games — without sacrificing power — in his age-34 season is both remarkable and a sign of hope for Angels fans.
Photo courtesy of Brad Penner, Imagn Images
Jorge Soler Suspension Reduced To Four Games
Angels outfielder/designated hitter Jorge Soler has had his suspension reduced from seven games to four and he will begin serving that suspension tonight. Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register was among those to relay the update.
The suspension stemmed from a brawl between the Angels and Atlanta last week. Soler homered off Atlanta starter Reynaldo López in the first inning. In the third inning, López hit Soler with a pitch. When Soler came up again in the fifth, a pitch from López sailed up and in. Though this one didn’t hit Soler, he clearly took exception to it. He stared at López for a while before charging at him, with the two throwing punches at each other.
Both players initially received seven-game suspension, with each player appealing. López quickly had his reduced to five games and started serving it. Thanks to an off-day on Thursday last week, that effectively amounted to one start getting pushed back slightly. Soler was also appealing and his status stayed up in the air for a week. It’s unclear if a hearing took place or if he reached a settlement. Either way, the result is that he will miss the next four games.
Teams are not allowed to replace players when they are suspended for on-field infractions. That means the Angels will have to play short-handed for the next four games. The Halos are in the Bronx today and tomorrow, then head home to host the Padres for three.
Soler has been the club’s designated hitter for most of their games so far this season. He has a strong .231/.342/.508 line, so it’s not good to be without him, but the one benefit is that they can rotate a few players through that spot to give them a lighter workload.
Photo courtesy of William Navarro, Imagn Images
Angels Outright Jeimer Candelario
The Angels announced that Jeimer Candelario was outrighted to Triple-A Salt Lake after being designated for assignment on Saturday. The team didn’t specify whether the veteran infielder will accept the assignment or elect free agency.
Candelario may prefer to stick in the organization rather than pursue what would surely be a minor league opportunity elsewhere. The 32-year-old broke camp with the Halos as a non-roster invitee. He appeared in seven regular season games, going 2-18 while striking out eight times. Candelario had slugged four home runs during Spring Training but fanned 19 times in 59 exhibition plate appearances.
The switch-hitter hasn’t been able to find his footing since signing a three-year free agent deal with Cincinnati over the 2023-24 offseason. Candelario was coming off a .251/.336/.471 showing and had been a well above-average hitter in three of the preceding four years. He owns a .204/.263/.389 batting line in 574 plate appearances over the past two-plus seasons.
Candelario played through knee discomfort during the 2024 season. He spent time on the injured list with a broken toe and a lumbar spine strain over the past two years. He couldn’t get on track after being released by the Reds, hitting .203/.289/.357 over 61 Triple-A games in the Yankees system to close the ’25 campaign.
The Halos are looking for consistent production out of second and third base. Adam Frazier, Oswald Peraza and Vaughn Grissom are all rotating through the keystone. Peraza also offers a glove-first alternative to the struggling Yoán Moncada at the hot corner.
Angels Select Nick Sandlin
The Angels announced that they have selected the contract of right-hander Nick Sandlin. Right-hander George Klassen was optioned to Triple-A Salt Lake in the corresponding move, and no 40-man transaction was required since the Halos had an open space on their 40-man roster.
Sandlin signed a minor league deal with Los Angeles after the Blue Jays outrighted the reliever off their 40-man roster in November. It was basically an early non-tender, as Sandlin was projected to earn a $2MM arbitration salary in 2026, and Sandlin elected to become a free agent in the wake of the outright assignment.
It wasn’t long ago that Sandlin was a valued member of the Guardians bullpen, posting a 3.27 ERA, 27.7% strikeout rate, and 11.4% walk rate over 195 1/3 innings for Cleveland from 2021-24. Home runs became an increasingly large problem for Sandlin over his last two seasons with the Guards, yet it was poor health rather than a lack of results that marred his lone season in Toronto. Sandlin had a 2.20 ERA over only 16 1/3 innings and 19 appearances with the Jays, as he missed most of the year due to a lat strain, and then elbow inflammation.
Signing Sandlin to a minors contract represented a low-cost risk for the Angels, who spent much of their offseason trying to buy low on once-solid relievers looking for bounce-back years. The early returns in Salt Lake were been promising for Sandlin since he had a 1.42 ERA over 6 1/3 Triple-A innings, though his secondary metrics weren’t impressive.
Klassen heads back to Triple-A after making his first two Major League starts, and the righty’s debut in the Show was far from smooth. Klassen was hit hard to the tune of a 13.50 ERA over his 4 2/3 innings pitched (with a whopping 10 walks allowed), and he also left his start yesterday due to a fingernail issue.
Angels Designate Jeimer Candelario For Assignment
The Angels announced that infielder Jeimer Candelario has been designated for assignment. The move creates roster space for fellow infielder Vaughn Grissom, who has been reinstated from the 10-day injured list.
Candelario signed a minor league contract with Los Angeles during the offseason, and earned himself a spot on the Opening Day roster due to a few factors. The veteran’s big Spring Training numbers helped him stand out from some other infield candidates like Christian Moore and Kyren Paris, and Grissom was also lost to a wrist sprain. Unfortunately, Candelario couldn’t keep his Cactus League performance going into the regular season, as he hit only .111/.200/.222 over 20 plate appearances.
The cold start continues the downward slide that began after Candelario signed a three-year, $45MM free agent deal with the Reds prior to the 2024 season. Candelario hit only .225/.279/.429 over 463 PA in the first season of his contract, and Cincinnati released him last June after he batted .113/.198/.213 in his first 91 PA of the 2025 campaign. Injuries such as knee tendinitis and a lumbar spine strain certainly contributed to that falloff over the last two seasons, but Candelario was thought to be healthy heading into 2026.
The Yankees signed Candelario after his release from the Reds but didn’t use him at the MLB level, and his struggles didn’t stop the Angels from taking a flier on the 32-year-old this past winter. Another team may feel Candelario still has something in the tank, and he would cost only a prorated Major League minimum salary for any time spent on a team’s active roster, as the Reds are still responsible for the $15MM still owed on his contract.
Even if another club has interest in Candelario, however, they might not be willing to devote a 40-man roster spot to him, so it seems likely that the infielder will clear waivers. He has enough MLB service time to reject an outright assignment and then elect free agency, so Candelario can test the market again for another minor league contract.
Grissom is now set to make his Angels debut, and get his first big league action of any kind since the 2024 season. Grissom has yet to live up to the promise of his impressive 2022 rookie season with the Braves, as he struggled in 2023 and then was a bust with the Red Sox after being dealt for Chris Sale during the 2023-24 offseason. While Sale resurrected his career in Atlanta, Grissom didn’t hit in Boston, battled injuries, and soon found himself supplanted by several other up-and-coming infield prospects.
Angels Re-Sign Joey Lucchesi To Minor League Deal
The Angels announced they’ve re-signed lefty reliever Joey Lucchesi to a minor league contract. He’ll be assigned to Triple-A Salt Lake.
Lucchesi was designated for assignment over the weekend when the Halos needed a roster spot to promote George Klassen as a spot starter. He cleared waivers and elected free agency. After a brief return to the open market, he’ll circle back to the Halos. That’s a common outcome for veterans who have the service time to refuse an outright assignment.
The 32-year-old southpaw had a very brief stint with the MLB club. He signed a major league contract at the end of Spring Training and made three appearances. Lucchesi allowed five of six hitters to reach in his season debut. He followed up with a pair of scoreless outings but walked at least one batter in all of his appearances. He wound up issuing five free passes (four walks and a hit batter) across 2 1/3 innings.
Lucchesi spent last season with the Giants. He opened the year in Triple-A but was called up in the middle of June. He remained on the active roster for the final three and a half months, turning in a 3.76 ERA over 38 1/3 innings. Lucchesi got grounders at a 53% clip but had a modest 18.8% strikeout rate that led the Giants to drop him from the 40-man roster at season’s end. He returned on a minor league contract for Spring Training and was granted his release when the Giants picked up Ryan Borucki late in camp.
Drew Pomeranz and Brent Suter are locked into Kurt Suzuki’s bullpen as veteran southpaws. The Halos recently recalled a third lefty, Mitch Farris, as a long reliever. Farris will probably be up and down from Triple-A throughout the season. Tayler Saucedo and Angel Perdomo are also in the organization on minor league deals.
Jorge Soler, Reynaldo López Given Multi-Game Suspensions
3:50pm: Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that MLB and López reach a settlement whereby his suspension is reduced to five games and he will start serving it immediately. It’s not clear if that includes today’s game, which started a few minutes after the suspension announcement.
Grant Holmes started for Atlanta today and the club is off tomorrow. On Friday, they start a series against the Guardians with Bryce Elder, Martín Pérez and Chris Sale scheduled to start. After that, they being a series against the Marlins. López’s turn in the rotation would have been the first game of that Miami series. Atlanta could instead go for Holmes on normal rest or turn to swingman José Suarez. They have Didier Fuentes and Víctor Mederos on optional assignment and could recall one of those two for a spot start.
3:00pm: Major League Baseball has announced that Angels outfielder Jorge Soler and Braves right-hander Reynaldo López have each been suspended for seven games and given undisclosed fines in relation to last night’s brawl. Both players are appealing and can continue to play until the appeals process has been completed.
López started last night’s contest for Atlanta. In the first inning, Soler launched a two-run home run off him. In the bottom of the third, Lopez hit Soler with a pitch. Soler came up again in the fifth and López threw a pitch up and in. The pitch didn’t hit Soler but he clearly took exception to it and stared López down for an extended period of time. The two exchanged words before Soler charged the mound and the two threw punches towards each other, as seen in this video from BravesVision. Both were ejected after that melee.
Players given suspensions for on-field infractions cannot be replaced on the roster. That means that the two clubs will have to play short-handed at some point. That will be on pause for now while the players are appealing.
Photo courtesy of William Navarro, Imagn Images
Angels Injury Notes: Trout, Yates, Rodriguez
Outfielder Mike Trout was back in the lineup on Tuesday against the Braves. The future Hall of Famer was sidelined on Monday with a hand injury. Trout was hit by a 94 mph fastball from Casey Legumina in the eighth inning of Sunday’s game against the Mariners. He was immediately removed from the contest.
Trout singled and scored in his return to the lineup. He was on base for Jorge Soler‘s two-run blast in the first inning. Those wouldn’t be the last fireworks from Soler that evening. Trout’s base hit had an exit velocity above 100 mph, so he would seem to be back to full strength.
The 34-year-old Trout’s production has cooled considerably after a huge opening series. The veteran slugged home runs in the first two games of the campaign. Trout racked up six hits and seven walks in the four-game set against the Astros. He’s recorded just a pair of hits since then.
We’re still working with tiny sample sizes at this point of the season, and the main development for the Angels is that Trout is healthy and available to contribute in the middle of the lineup. He played 130 games last year, his most since 2019. Trout is now back in his familiar spot in center field after spending most of 2025 at DH.
On the pitching side, right-hander Kirby Yates faced hitters on Tuesday, per Jeff Fletcher of the Orange County Register. The reliever is working his way back from knee inflammation. The 39-year-old was positioned to open the year as the Angels’ closer while Ben Joyce and Robert Stephenson dealt with their own injuries, but Yates hit the IL himself shortly before Opening Day.
The Angels will see how Yates recovers from yesterday’s work and determine the next step in his rehab process, relays Fletcher. He could be headed on a minor league assignment soon. The Angels signed Yates to a one-year, $5MM pact in January. The reliever was the club’s largest spend of the offseason. Los Angeles also added veteran bullpen arms Jordan Romano and Drew Pomeranz to improve a unit that ranked 28th in ERA last season. Romano has taken over as closer, securing four saves across six scoreless innings.
The Angels’ biggest swing of the offseason was sending outfielder Taylor Ward to the Orioles for right-hander Grayson Rodriguez. After four MLB Spring Training appearances with his new club, Rodriguez went down with shoulder inflammation. The former top prospect missed all of 2025 with a lat strain. Injuries have limited him to 43 starts since his big-league debut in 2023. Rodriguez is feeling better and is nearing mound work, per Fletcher.
Photo courtesy of Gary A. Vasquez, Imagn Images